


Any Two Guys (Two Jacks, one Daniel, and Alternate Dimensions)

by Titti



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Community: remix_redux, Community: remixredux05, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-15
Updated: 2005-03-15
Packaged: 2017-11-28 13:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/675084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titti/pseuds/Titti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dimension travel brings about a few revelations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Any Two Guys (Two Jacks, one Daniel, and Alternate Dimensions)

Daniel's POV

When you're a member of SG-1, strange things occur often enough. I guess 'strange' loses its meaning really, because every time we walk through the gate we expect something... well, something different. Except I never expected to go through the gate to find myself in my office inside the Mountain.

It took a moment before I understood what happened, or at least where I was. What had happened was still a mystery, just like Teal'c and Sam's whereabouts. I couldn't stay inside my office forever. I made my way slowly outside, no one reacted strangely when they saw me, most recognized me, some said hello, no one objected that I was carrying a P90. Everything seemed remarkably normal, but I knew something was wrong.

I tried to see Sam first. She could help me figure this out, but I was told that she was on leave. Teal'c was next, but he too was not on base. Finally, I decided to go and see Jack. On the way down, I saw an airman who looked familiar. Connor, her shirt informed me. "Hi," I said, still gauging people's reactions.

Connor smiled at me. "Dr. Jackson, I thought you had left for the day."

"I was... I was just going, but I wanted to see Jack first. You haven't seen him, have you?" My attempt at gaining information was pathetic, but she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong.

"He left the base about thirty minutes ago, Doctor," she answered so very politely, not knowing that she had just taken away the only remaining person that I trusted.

"Thanks anyway." I tried to think what to do next. I decided to go back to my office. This time, I studied the room, looking for clues. The room looked exactly like mine, but some things were off. There was a mug that I didn't recognize, there were books that weren't there before I left.

I wasn't home, that much was clear, but where was I? We'd encountered computer games, alien races, alternate dimensions. Anyone of those could be an explanation, but this time I was alone. I had to make the decision that would ensure my survival. I decided to act 'normal' in case someone was controlling this, not wanting to tip my hand too soon.

I went to my desk and found the spare keys I keep in my desk drawer, except these were...they were from my old apartment, before I ascended. If someone was in my mind, they weren't doing a good job at reproducing my world. Still, I needed to learn more before I could form a plan of action. I hid the P90 knowing that I wouldn't be able to take it off base, and went upstairs, and into the parking lot.

"Lost your car again, Dr. Jackson." Sgt. Sanchez, or so his shirt informed me, smiled at me.

"As a matter of fact...." Playing the forgetful scientist can be helpful at times, and I turned around, trying to find a car I didn't know I had.

He looked around too, but then frowned. "Are you sure you brought your car, Doctor? Because I don't see it."

I slapped my forehead. "You're right. I took a cab this morning because my car wasn't working."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, Doctor, we'll arrange for a cab to bring you home."

Did this idiot really think that I was so stupid? I can speak 23 languages, remember all the designations for every planet we've visited, I think I would remember if I drove; he obviously didn't agree. However, he did find me a cab to take me to my apartment, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

When I arrived, I dropped the keys on the coffee table, and looked around. Everything looked eerily the same, and yet different. I made my way to the bedroom, the door was half opened. I never can get into the habit of closing doors.

I was ready to step in when I saw them: Jack and me, another me. I should have been thinking of the consequence of this revelation, but I couldn't get past that I...the other me was in bed with Jack.

He was kissing Jack, brushing his hair. The look in his eyes...Oh god, I could see the love in his eyes, eyes that I saw in the mirror every day, so like mine, and yet so different. Did I look at anyone like that? Sha're, but that was a long time ago. I was still thinking what it meant to feel that way when I heard Jack speak.

"I love you too," Jack said sleepily.

My other self blinked. "Did I say that out loud?"

We were both surprised. I must have been so focused on them that I didn't hear the other Daniel speak, or maybe it was the fact that I couldn't take my eyes off of Jack, looking so relaxed as he snuggled next to my doppelganger.

I never pictured Jack as a lover, in fact I've done my best of never thinking of any member of SG1 in a romantic light, but this felt so right and intimate that I felt jealous of my other self. He had the love that seemed so elusive in my life.

The other Daniel, however, was pretty comfortable with his life. He lay there, petting Jack to sleep, or trying to, but it seems that regardless of the dimension, Jack is always the one giving the orders. "Go to sleep," Jack said again, before leaning toward the other Daniel and kissing him.

I froze again. I mean, I knew that they were lovers, and yet the kiss was more powerful than I had expected. Jack put all of himself in one simple kiss: passion, love, caring, and a sense of possession. I should have felt uncomfortable at the display, but I could only think that I wanted to be kissed that way, that I had never felt what my doppelganger was feeling.

I stayed there, unable to move until they both fell asleep. Only then I made my way back to the living room. I didn't know what to do next. I certainly couldn't stay here. The longer I stayed in this alternate dimension, the longer I'd be in danger.

Sam, I needed to track her down. If anyone could figure out what had happened, it was her. I went to the kitchen to find the money I kept in one of the drawers. No matter of what dimension I was in, I needed money to get around. I was ready to leave when I felt a hand pressed over my mouth, and a gun at my temple.

"I'm going to take my hand off. Make a sound, and I'll kill you right here." Jack sounded so different than my Jack, now that I paid attention. There was no question in my mind that he would kill me if I didn't do what he said.

"Jack... look, it's Daniel... I know this is strange, and I don't know if you know about alternate dimensions, but it's me. I didn't mean to... I'm just trying to go home."

"Well, you certainly babble like him," he said amused, but he pulled back. "Turn around." When I did, I saw that the gun was still aimed at me.

"I thought you were asleep," I blurted out.

Jack snorted. "You make more noise than an elephant. Now, start talking, before I change my mind, and kill you anyway."

I tried to mirror the smirk on his face, but I was too afraid. Instead I tried to find my voice again, and explain everything I had done since arriving to this reality. I was afraid that he wouldn't believe me, but he did. In fact, he understood things a lot better than I had expected.

"There is no need for Daniel to get involved in this," were his first words when I finished my story. "We'll call Carter and meet at the base. We'll find a way to send you back if Janet says it's really you."

He must have seen the look on my face at the mention of Janet. "What's wrong now?"

I shook my head. "Janet...she isn't alive in my reality. She was killed two years ago." I tried to smile, but I couldn't, Janet was an honorary member of SG-1. I saw the look of sympathy on Jack's face, the one that tells you that he'd like to say something, but he can't find the words. I pre-empted him by saying, "Maybe we should go, before I...he wakes up." I had seen the way Sam had reacted when her counterpart had shown up, and I could do without a similar experience. "You should..." I waved my hands in the general direction of Jack, a very naked Jack, a Jack I was trying to look straight in his eyes, and never let my own eyes wonder.

He chuckled. "You still blush like Daniel used to. He stopped when we started fucking."

The word seemed so strange on his lips, and I had to remind myself that he wasn't my Jack. "We don't fuck," I muttered before I could censor my answer. Jack raised an eyebrow, enough to let me know that he didn't believe me. "We don't," I repeated like a child trying to make a point. "We're just friends. When did you two..." I stopped, knowing that I'd gone too far. Usually I would push as much as I could, but I think I was afraid to find out what had been missing in my relationship with Jack.

"Get together?" he asked openly. "After the explosion on Kelowna, did that happen to you?"

"Yes," I admitted with mixed feeling. Back then, I wanted to ascended, I thought I had made the right choice, but doubts have cropped up too many times to feel completely comfortable with the decision.

Jack sighed. "It was... It was horrible, standing around, unable to do anything. Then he appeared to me, said he wanted to go, that we should let him die. I couldn't." Jack's eyes met mine, and the love there overwhelmed me. "I would never abandon a member of my team, but more I couldn't imagine life without Daniel. It was selfish of me, but I told him if he decided to die, he'd have to do it without me."

My memories went back to that time in my life. I never considered talking to anyone but Jack. I knew that he would help me, that he would understand. How could this Jack be so different? "Did he try to contact anyone else?"

Jack smiled. "He said he would, tried to convince me, but I told him that he was stuck with me, and that if he tried to leave, I'd go after him."

"You wouldn't..." The thought of Jack dying hit me like a punch in the stomach.

"I don't think so, but the threat was enough." Jack shrugged. "I didn't think he would remember. Hell, I didn't know if we could save him, but Janet kept him alive until the Tok'ra found us a sarcophagus." He smiled. "First words when he got out were 'you're stuck with me'. Of course, he couldn't leave it there. He asked me why I wouldn't let him go, why I fought so hard, and I couldn't lie to him. The rest is..."

"History," I said amused.

"Yeah, history." Then, Jack frowned, studying me. "What happened to you? Why aren't you two together?"

"Jack didn't fight," I answered. Would it have made a difference? I didn't know, but obviously my Jack didn't feel like this man.

"You're not dead."

"Obviously," I said smiling. "I didn't die exactly. I ascended. Turns out I wasn't really cut out to be an all knowing being, and I got sent back." I frowned, thinking about my life. "It wasn't the first time I sort of died. It wasn't the last either."

"I don't envy the man that has to deal with you. You're worse than my Daniel." Jack laughed. "All right, time to go. Why don't you wait in the hall? I need a moment with Daniel."

"And some clothes," I pointed out, already on my way outside.

I don't know what he told my doppelganger, but it didn't take long. Soon, we were in his car and headed for the Mountain. If there is one thing that never changes in any reality, it's Sam's brilliancy. She jumped right into the problem, trying to understand what brought me to this reality.

I admit that for a moment I was scared. I began to suffer from temporal distortion. The pain was sharp, and even if it were supposed to last mere seconds, it felt like it went on forever. Help came in the unlikeliest source. There wasn't much that could be done medically, but emotionally Jack was there, sitting next to me, ready to help if I needed anything.

"You don't have to babysit me," I told him at one point.

"What else am I going to do? Carter won't even let me near her computer, and I know for a fact in how much trouble you can get." He took my hand, and squeezed it gently. "Carter will find a solution."

"I know." I just hoped she would find it before I died. "Your help means a lot to me," I blurted out in the way I usually do.

Jack squeezed my hand again. "If Daniel were in your situation, he'd be strong, smile never faltering, just like you, but a part of him would question if a solution could be found in time. He would question it not because he doesn't trust Sam, but because it's what he does, and with the questions there would be some fear, however small, however hidden..."

He didn't say anything else, but kept staring at me, not releasing my hand. Did my Jack know me as well? Did he care enough to learn about me? Why was I even wondering? It's not like I had any romantic feelings for Jack, and yet, I couldn't take my hand away, enjoying the comfort he was providing.

"When you go back, you should talk to him."

My head snapped up, and I frowned. How did he know? Had he started to read my mind? "There is nothing to talk about," I said instead, trying to stay calm.

"Look, I'm not good at this alternate reality business, missed chances, fork roads, and all that crap." Obviously for all his denials, even this Jack listened to Sam. "But it's still us, same Jack, same Daniel. One decision can't negate feelings."

"It's not that simple, Jack. Although the accident might be the fork road, there might be something before that caused the divergence. We don't have enough data to form an-" I found his fingers pressed against my lips, and I froze, stunned.

"I'm not saying jump him when you see him. I'm saying talk to him, yes?" He made his point over and over until Sam called us, which was great because I was starting to think that death was better than listening to Jack discuss romantic options.

"Tell me you found a way to send him home," Jack said as we entered the briefing room.

"Yes, Sir. Our readings show that there were some anomalies at the time Daniel, this Daniel arrived. When the gate... his gate was activated, the wormhole caused a temporal rift-"

"I didn't ask how and why, did I?" Jack said in a singsong voice. I couldn't suppress the smile. "So can we get him back, yes or no?"

She nodded. "Yes, I recalibrated the computer. We can dial out, and Daniel can go back to his reality."

"And you're sure about this? No split molecules, different dimension, new realities." Jack was asking the questions that he knew I would ask, and again I was grateful for his help.

"No, Sir. He will return to his dimension." Sam smiled at me. "There won't be any problems, but we should do it as soon as possible."

Jack stood up. "No time like the present."

They were right; I needed to go. The pain from the temporal distortion was getting worse, but the thought of going home was like a cold shower. I'm not sure if I was more afraid that something went wrong or that I would return home to a Jack who didn't even care that I was gone.

A hand on my back brought me back to the situation at hand. Jack led me to the gateroom. The gate locked into place, Sgt. Davis's voice came over the microphone, Sam gave the okay as well as she stared at the computer screen, and then the gate made the connection. "I guess this is it," I murmured.

Jack leaned in, and whispered in my ear. "Doubts are good, but I know he's waiting for you. Go home, Daniel."

I nodded, not too convinced, but walked up the ramp and into the gate, only to find myself literally falling onto the ramp again.

"Daniel, are you all right?" Sam kneeled next to me. "What happened? You disappeared for a few seconds."

"There was a temporal distortion in the wormhole," I repeated what the other Sam had tried to explain to me and the other Jack. "You found the anomaly, and fixed it, and here I am."

"SG-1, stand down." I looked up when I heard Jack's voice from the command room, already thinking of the debriefing. As if reading my mind, Jack spoke again. "Meet me in the debriefing room."

Of course, I couldn't refuse to tell them what happened. I repeated as much as I could remember from the other Sam's explanation. I told them when the divergence in realities occurred. I forgot to mention the little part where Jack and I were lovers, but I didn't think it was relevant to the mission.

"I'll check the system," Sam said when I finished.

"Very well. All missions are aborted until we're sure that everything is all right," Jack answered. "Dismissed."

Sam was the first to leave, I suspect that part of her enjoyed the challenge. Teal'c was his usually eloquent self and barely nodded at Jack before moving to the door. Before I could safely leave, Jack stopped me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I turned to face him, and nodded. "I'm fine, Jack. I don't know why you'd think otherwise." I still haven't learned to limit my answers, but then if I did, he'd probably become convinced that I'm hiding something.

"Because there are a few things you aren't telling me." He got up, and approached me. "As long as you're all right..."

"I am," I repeated. "Things were... they were different there."

"They always are. Okay, but if there is anything that could help us..."

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. Mostly personal stuff." I turned to leave, but I couldn't. "Why did you let me die?" I asked so softly that I thought he hadn't heard me, but he did. I felt him step behind me, so close that I felt the heat from his body.

"Because you asked me." Jack put a hand on my shoulder. "Because I trust your judgment. Because I tried to do what was right for you."

For the first time, I started to have doubts about the other Jack's actions. Was that love or selfishness? I turned, and smiled at my Jack. "Thank you. It means a lot... you know if you have time, we could grab dinner. I could tell you about your other self," I added on instinct. It was the best thing I ever did.

* * *

Jack stretches next to me, his naked body bathed in the afternoon light. He blinks before focusing on me. "You're thinking so hard that I can't sleep."

I chuckle. "You've been sleeping for the past hour."

"Details," he mutters, before propping himself up on his elbow. His fingers slide down my chest resting on my stomach. "So what is keeping your mind occupied this fine afternoon? It'd better not be sex, because I can't get it up again."

I laugh again. "No, Jack, it's not sex. I was thinking about us and the other us." I don't have to explain, he knows who I'm talking about.

"What about us?" he asks a little too awake for a man who came home at dawn.

I want to reassure him that nothing is wrong, but how can I explain? How can I put it into words? The other us had this seemingly perfect life, and yet, that Jack made the decisions, even kept Daniel in the dark about me. Jack and I fight constantly, disagree on the most disparate things, from missions to cereal brand, butt head more times that I could count. It is... "I like us."

"Of course you do. We're perfect. Now, can I get some sleep!"

He rests his head on my chest, and I brush his hair until he's asleep again. I don't know if we're perfect, but my life surely feels perfect with him in it.


End file.
